Sarah climbed the steps of the train station and stepped out into the sunshine. Shielding her eyes, she glanced both ways as she crossed the street. Five more blocks. She picked up her pace. Art class started in 20 minutes and she hated to be late. This was the one bright spot in her life, and she refused to miss a single minute of it.

            She hurried past the towering commercial buildings, making her way to the smaller side streets lined with brick homes. Seemed she was always hurrying these days. Always running to something. Or from something, as the case might be. Her mind flashed back to her conversation that morning with her roommate.

            “Sarah? Are you alright?
            Sarah held up her coffee mug. “I will be soon.”

            “You know what I mean.”

            “If you’re talking about breaking up with Pete, then, no.”

            “He wasn’t right for you.”

            Sarah’s stomach turned. No, he hadn’t been right for her. He only cared about what was best for himself. He wasn’t a Christian. But he was charming and oh, so handsome, and Sarah had fallen hard for his lines. “Why didn’t you ever say anything before?”

            “Because I thought you were only having fun. I didn’t realize you two were serious.”

            Sarah swallowed hard. “No. Nothing serious. I’ll be fine.” She’d downed her coffee in one gulp and ran out the apartment door, hoping to escape at work.

            She hadn’t escaped at work, and her guilty conscience followed her even now, ten hours later, on the walk through the city. Things shouldn’t have been serious with Pete. But Sarah allowed him to go far with her. Too far. They hadn’t been married, or even close to being married. But he’d said he’d loved her, and that was all that mattered. But now he was gone, off with some other girl, no doubt. And Sarah was left with the guilt and shame.

            Finally arriving at the studio, she settled into a chair in the classroom, eager to hear the instructor’s words before diving into a new project. At least here she could focus on something other than her guilt. She straightened in her seat as Sue called the class to attention.

            “Today we’re going to talk about pentimento.”

            Sarah blinked. What on earth was that?

            Sue continued. “Pentimento is when a painter paints over something on their painting. It’s actually quite common. With today’s X-ray and infrared technology, we’ve been able to uncover changes artists have made.” Sue flashed images on the screen at the front of the room. “For example, here are some paintings, a few that are well known, with hidden images underneath.” She clicked through a few slides. “Sometimes an artist wishes to correct a mistake, but sometimes they’ve reused a canvas to create something else entirely.” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “We live in an age where it’s possible to reveal everything the painters tried to cover. Isn’t it marvelous?”

            Sarah’s dinner twisted in her stomach. Some things were meant to stay hidden. Would she always have this shame hidden deep inside her, ready to be revealed if someone looked closely enough?

            Sue clicked off the projector and led the class to the other half of the studio. “I want you all to take your paintings from last week, choose an area, and repaint it. Let’s see if you can improve your artwork by making a change.”

            Sarah worked diligently on her painting for the next hour, as Sue wandered through the sea of canvasses, making suggestions. At the end of the hour, Sarah’s painting was definitely improved from what she had painted last week, but she knew what was underneath. Just like anyone with an infrared scanner could see what was underneath the fresh layer of paint. And she knew what was underneath her nice girl façade, as well.

            As she rode the train back to her apartment, she couldn’t get tonight’s lesson out of her mind. What was that term again? Pentimento? She looked it up on her phone. Pentimento. Italian for repentance.

            Repentance. Would God even forgive her? Did she deserve it?

            “Ahh, repentance.” A voice sounded over her shoulder. Sarah whirled around to find an older gentlemen standing behind her. She shut off her phone and faced him.

            “Pardon me?”

            The man shrugged. “Sorry to intrude, but as you can see, the train’s quite full for a Tuesday evening. I couldn’t help seeing your phone, as you’re right in front of me.” He pointed to her phone. If you’re interested in repentance, check out Psalm 51. It’s one of my favorites on the topic.” The train came to a halt. He tipped his cap and made his way off the train. Sarah stared after him.

            As passengers exited the train, Sarah slid into one of the newly unoccupied seats. The stranger’s words swirled in her mind. She opened her phone and searched for Psalm 51. The words above the psalm caused her heart to jump to her throat.

A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

            God had said David was a man after his own heart. If David could be forgiven, could she? She read through the psalm, and by the end, tears streamed down her face. It wasn’t about pentimento. No, she could never fully cover over her sin. But Jesus could take it away. She lifted a prayer to heaven and asked the Lord to wash her clean.

Psalm 51: 1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

God, we all sin. But when we do, please help us remember, there is always a path to reconciliation with You through Christ Jesus. Thank You for granting us forgiveness when we ask. We can never make things right on our own, but You, Lord, have provided a way to wash us clean. You are not a God of condemnation, but a God of love. Yes, You must judge sin and can’t have it in Your presence, but what a blessing to know we can come to You anew, washed clean with the blood of Jesus, and be called children of God. Thank You for that precious blessing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.